Biological Control of Postharvest Diseases of Grape, Peach, and Apple with the Yeasts<i>Kloeckera apiculata</i>and<i>Candida guilliermondii</i>

Abstract

A yeast, strain 138 of Kloeckera apiculata, isolated from the surface of grapes, was evaluated for its activity in reducing postharvest decay of grape, peach, and apple fruits. In an artificial infection assay in which detached grapes were immersed in an aqueous suspension of yeast cells (5×10 8 cfu/ml) and spray-inoculated with 10 3 sporangiospores per milliliter of Rhizopus stolonifer, strain 138 reduced decay, whereas strain 87 (=US-7) of Candida guilliermondii did not(.)